Sudan
03.03.03
Urgent Interventions
Sudan: arbitrary arrest of Mona Zahir Alsadati and the incommunicado detention of Adam Abdel Hamied Adam
Case SDN 130303
Incommunicado detention / Risk to personal integrity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudanese Organisation against Torture, a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest of Mona Zahir Alsadati and the incommunicado detention of Adam Abdel Hamied Adam by the Security Forces in Sudan.
According to the information received, at 9pm on March 3rd, 2003, the Sudanese Security Forces arrested Adam Abdel Hamied Adam, a trainee advocate and member of the Abdelmajeed Imam Cultural Centre, and Mona Zahir Alsadati, a journalist. The two were arrested from outside the building of the Abdelmajeed Imam Cultural Centre in Khartoum North.
According to the information received, both Mr Adam and Ms Mona were taken to the offices of the National Security Agency near Farough cemetery for interrogation. After two hours, Mona was released and she was asked to report the next day to security offices. Adam remains in detention and his whereabouts are unknown to his family and his lawyer.
When Mona’s family enquired as to the reason for the arrest they were told that the Abdelmajeed Imam Cultural Centre was thought to be a "suspicious" place, where it is undesirable for women to go. They stated that the security forces are intended to protect Sudanese women from such places, and that the Centre is under surveillance by the Security of the Community Police and the Anti-Drug Squad.
According to our sources, Mr Adam's arrest is not directly connected with his activities with the Abdelmajeed Imam Centre, which is working to promote a culture of peace and human rights in Sudan, as well as carrying out various other cultural activities. The Centre is located in Bahri Alsafya in Khartoum North. It’s activities were suspended for a period last year, 2002, and it has also previously been under surveillance by the security forces.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Adam Abdel Hamied Adam and calls upon the Sudanese authorities to immediately locate his whereabouts, guarantee his personal integrity and release him in the absence of valid legal charges.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. immediately locate Mr. Adam Abdel Hamied Adam’s whereabouts;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee his and Ms. Mona Zahir Alsadati‘s physical and psychological integrity;
iii. ensure that he is granted immediate access to family visits and legal represeantation;
iv. order Mr. Adam’s immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
v. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances these arrests in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
vi. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons;
vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
· His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, President's Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 24911 783223
· Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 788941
· Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 779383
· Mr. Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 24911 779173
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax : +4122 7312656. E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
Geneva, March 13, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Incommunicado detention / Risk to personal integrity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sudan.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudanese Organisation against Torture, a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest of Mona Zahir Alsadati and the incommunicado detention of Adam Abdel Hamied Adam by the Security Forces in Sudan.
According to the information received, at 9pm on March 3rd, 2003, the Sudanese Security Forces arrested Adam Abdel Hamied Adam, a trainee advocate and member of the Abdelmajeed Imam Cultural Centre, and Mona Zahir Alsadati, a journalist. The two were arrested from outside the building of the Abdelmajeed Imam Cultural Centre in Khartoum North.
According to the information received, both Mr Adam and Ms Mona were taken to the offices of the National Security Agency near Farough cemetery for interrogation. After two hours, Mona was released and she was asked to report the next day to security offices. Adam remains in detention and his whereabouts are unknown to his family and his lawyer.
When Mona’s family enquired as to the reason for the arrest they were told that the Abdelmajeed Imam Cultural Centre was thought to be a "suspicious" place, where it is undesirable for women to go. They stated that the security forces are intended to protect Sudanese women from such places, and that the Centre is under surveillance by the Security of the Community Police and the Anti-Drug Squad.
According to our sources, Mr Adam's arrest is not directly connected with his activities with the Abdelmajeed Imam Centre, which is working to promote a culture of peace and human rights in Sudan, as well as carrying out various other cultural activities. The Centre is located in Bahri Alsafya in Khartoum North. It’s activities were suspended for a period last year, 2002, and it has also previously been under surveillance by the security forces.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Adam Abdel Hamied Adam and calls upon the Sudanese authorities to immediately locate his whereabouts, guarantee his personal integrity and release him in the absence of valid legal charges.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. immediately locate Mr. Adam Abdel Hamied Adam’s whereabouts;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee his and Ms. Mona Zahir Alsadati‘s physical and psychological integrity;
iii. ensure that he is granted immediate access to family visits and legal represeantation;
iv. order Mr. Adam’s immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
v. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances these arrests in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
vi. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons;
vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
· His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, President's Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 24911 783223
· Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 788941
· Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: +24911 779383
· Mr. Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 24911 779173
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax : +4122 7312656. E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
Geneva, March 13, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.